The relation of White Matter Hyperintensities to implicit learning in healthy older adults

✍ Scribed by H. J. Aizenstein; R. D. Nebes; C. C. Meltzer; M. B. Fukui; R. L. Williams; J. Saxton; P. R. Houck; C. S. Carter; C. F. Reynolds III; S. T. DeKosky

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 67 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.685

✦ Synopsis

Objective:

This study examined whether mri evidence of cerebrovascular disease in the form of white matter hyperintensities (wmh) was associated with decreased implicit sequence learning performance in a high-functioning group of normal elderly volunteers.

Method:

One hundred and eight community-dwelling elderly individuals received an mri and performed an implicit sequence learning task, the serial reaction time (srt) task.

Results:

Hyperintensities present in the white matter were associated with a decreased learning effect. this association was found with both deep white matter and periventricular changes. other factors affecting srt performance (i.e., baseline reaction time and switch-cost) were not significantly related to the presence of wmh.

Conclusions:

The results indicate that in addition to previously identified generalized cognitive deficits, wmh are also associated with a specific decrease in the implicit learning of sequences.